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Mobile Monday: IGDA Board Updates & New GDC Report

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Mobile Monday: IGDA Board Updates & New GDC Report

Blog

Mobile Monday: IGDA Board Updates & New GDC Report

Posted Feb 12, 2018

This week, Mobile Monday takes a look at the newest appointments to the IGDA board as well as highlights from GDC’s new State of the Game Industry report.

IGDA Appoints New Executive Director
Earlier this morning, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) announced that its interim Executive Director Jen MacLean would take the post permanent. Additionally, Kogregate CEO Emily Greer and Big Huge Games lead producer Zoe Bell are also joining the IGDA board of directors. As stated in the announcement, MacLean’s goal for the organization are to “grow the IGDA into an organization that empowers developers from all walks of life and all corners of the globe to lead successful, fulfilling careers in the industry.”

Major initiatives for the IGDA are expected to be unveiled at GDC 2018.

GDC Releases Report
While game developers await further news from the IGDA, GDC has released its State of the Game Industry 2018 report, the sixth study of its kind. The report, which shares the results of over 4,000 game developers surveyed, offers a few interesting insights, including:

Publishing for mobile is more common than any given console. Indeed, 36% of developers published their most recent title to smartphones, whereas fewer published to the Playstation 4 (30%), Xbox One (26%), or Nintendo Switch (12%).

Team sizes are polarized. While a respectable share of developers (19%) work at companies with over 500 employees, a third of developers (34%) work for companies with 5 employees or less.

Most developers are self-funded. Indeed, only 16% reported receiving funding from an external publisher, and a somewhat surprising 34% fund their companies with their own personal money, a notable increase from last year when 29% of developers were using personal funds.

There’s no clear monetization winner. While half of developers (49%) stated they rely on paid downloads to monetize their games, the other monetization models leveraged by developers varies quite a bit, with no clear winner. Usage of paid updates (23%), paid in-game items (22%), and paid in-game currency (21%) were all relatively close. Meanwhile, usage of ad monetization (14%) and paid subscriptions (13%) were also nearly tied.

About AdColony Mobile Mondays
Mobile Monday examines the latest news, trends, and developments in mobile apps, tech, and advertising. Do you have a story to share for the next Mobile Monday? Tweet it to @AdColony. For the latest AdColony mobile news and updates, follow @AdColony on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or connect on Linkedin.

AdColonist, poet, and nerd, Barbie keeps both the advertiser and publisher in mind in her role as the Director of Marketing. To be featured in one one of her recurring features or participate in an upcoming industry study, simply email marketing@adcolony.com.